United States, Hong Kong, and Japan were the leading inbound markets for Thailand
Hong Kong travelers generated the highest proportion of stays for 5 star and 4 star hotels amongst all inbound markets
Travelers from Switzerland, Hong Kong, and US paid the most for their room with the highest average daily rate

The latest data from the Expedia group, the world’s largest travel company that includes Expedia.com,Hotels.com and other leading online travel brands, reveals its latest data, demonstrating the group’s continuous ability to attract diverse, high-value inbound travelers to Thailand. This is in line with the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) 2016 focus on attracting ‘quality’ travelers to the Kingdom.

According to industry data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports[1], Thai hoteliers are attracting Asia Pacific travelers – China, Malaysia, Korea, Japan and India topping the chart in terms of international arrivals. The Expedia group[2], though, reports the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia amongst their top 5 feeder markets for Thailand, contributing to the variety of travelers coming to the Kingdom. This is testament to the group’s ability bring travelers from a variety of markets, helping Thai hoteliers to truly diversify their guest portfolio.

Compared to Q3 last year, international feeder markets with the most notable growth in year-on-year demand are Brazil (100%), Belgium (80%), Sweden (70%), Austria (70%) and Switzerland (60%).

In particular, Thai hoteliers should look to target travelers from Switzerland who are spending the most for their hotel accommodation when they visit Thailand. Hotel partners will also appreciate travelers from Hong Kong, United States and Brazil as they top the list in terms of average daily rate.

Hong Kong had the highest proportion of travelers staying at a 5 and 4 star property. As for 3 and 2 star properties, Russia and Spain (& Canary Islands) respectively take the highest proportions. Finland, Malaysia and Indonesia are amongst the top five in both categories2:

Inbound countries with top 5 proportion of star category stays – based on demand from Expedia Group brands

5 star properties

4 star properties

3 star properties

2 star properties

1.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Russia

Spain & Canary Islands

2.

United States of America

Singapore

Finland

Indonesia

3.

Japan

Australia

Malaysia

Finland

4.

South Korea

New Zealand

Sweden

Russia

5.

United Kingdom

South Korea / Japan

Indonesia

Malaysia

Russian visitors are staying the longest, generating an average length of stay of 6 days. Others who are not far off include visitors from Italy and Austria, along with Norway and Australia, whose average length of stay is 5 and 4 days respectively. Travelers from Oceania and Europe including Austria, Italy and Belgium, are booking furthest out, averaging over two months ahead of their stay. In particular, hotel partners can look to leverage Expedia’s renowned travel brand in Oceania – Wotif.com®, to attract valuable travelers from Australia and New Zealand. Australia is amongst the top 5 feeder markets to Thailand. They are also some of the longest stayers, averaging 4 nights per stay, with an average booking window of well over 2 months.

“We continue to drive valuable, international travelers to Thailand. These international markets are often more difficult to reach but bring the best value. Our hotel partners benefit from the exposure of having 450 million monthly visits across Expedia’s portfolio of travel brands including Expedia.com, Hotels.com®,Travelocity, Orbitz Worldwide, Wotif Group, Air Asia Expedia and more. Travelers can select their preferred mode of payment from over 30 payment methods offered on the group’s websites,” said Pimpawee Nopakitgumjorn, Director of Market Management at the Expedia group.

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